Article handling apparatus



Original Filed July 2, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet l d m? w Zm m A g n fla, rlwwau 0 a N w a Aug. 15, 1944. s; GOEBEL ET AL 2,355,722 ARTICLE HANDLINGAIDPARATUS ori inal Filed July 2. 1937 s Shee ts-Sheet s Invpn 'fiomr&/eorye fiaebelmceased lixzlema GoebeLaYJmK- I Jfarzy ,au, 3 v

Patented Aug. 15, 1944 ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS George Goebel,deceased, late of Baltimore, Md.,

' by Helene Goebel, administratrix, Baltimore,

Md., and Harry A. Rau, Baltimore, Md., assignors to Crown Cork & SealCompany, Inc., Balti more, Md., a corporation of New York Originalapplication July 2, 1937, Serial No.

151,758, now Patent No. 2,257,740, dated October 7, 1941. Divided andthis application May 3, 1941, Serial No. 391,804

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to an article handling apparatus, theapplication being a division of the application of George Goebel andHarry A. Rau, for Methods and apparatus for coating articles, Serial No.151,758, filed July 2, 1937, issued October 7, 1941, as Patent No.2,257,740.

The principal object of the invention is to provide means applicable toarticle conveyors to support articles during movement upon the conveyor,and also to move the articles from one conveyor to another, all withoutmarring the article or interrupting its movement.

Other'objects and advantages of the invention will be'apparent from thefollowing specification and accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 isa general plan view of an apparatus including the present invention.

Figure 2 includes the invention in side elevation. a

Figure 3 is a plan view of the invention.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure3.

Figure 6 isa vertical sectional view on the line 6-45 of Figure 3, and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the article guiding frames usedin the transfer mechanism of the apparatus. I

The apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings and the operationthereof may be generally described as follows: Containers or cans C,ordinarily of metal and, with the embodiment 'of the invention disclosedin the drawings, in-

cluding a frusto-conical top wall, are moved to the coating mechanism 21described in detail in said original application by any suitable infeedconveyor, not shown, which delivers the cans to a guideway 22 alongwhich they move in an inverted position to an infeed dial 23. Dial 23rotates to position successive cans upon can supporting elements spacedabout a rotating coating table 26 so that the cans will be coated ontheir interiors. As indicated in Figure 1, continued rotation of thetable 26 will carry the successive cans-to a draining conveyor 29 whichwill conduct them in inverted position through a heated chamber 30 sothat any surplus wax may drain therefrom. The cans are removed fromconveyor 29 by a transfer mechanism 3| (Figure 1)-'of the presentinvention and including an endless conveyor provided with elements whichwill cause the can to be turned from inverted position to lie in ahorizontal plane. The cans move from the transfer mechanism 3| to adrying conveyor 32 and on this latter conveyor the cans are tilted tohave their mouth or nozzles slightly raised so that no wax can flow overthe lip of the mouth. The dryingconveyor 32 moves through a sufiicientlylong path of travel to enable the wax in the can to become cool and hardand the cans are subsequently deposited by the conveyor 32 upon asuitable outfeed conveyor 33 from which they may b -removed byattendants. l

The can which has beenplaced upon draining conveyor 29 will move intothe drainingchamber 3|] which extends along and encloses the frontrun ofconveyor 29. As best shown in Figures 3 and 6, each link of the conveyor29 is provided with a carrier I30 which includes an upstanding Wall I3Ihaving its inner portion shaped to partially encircle and extend beneathan inverted can to support the same.

In order to transfer the inverted cans fromthe draining conveyor 29 tothe drying conveyor 32 and position them in a substantially horizontalposition on the latter conveyor, the cans moving along the inner run'ofconveyor 29 are engaged by a transfer conveyor 3|.

As indicated in Figure 1, the transfer conveyor 3| moves about sprocketwheels MI and is operated from a suitable source of power through asprocket chain I42 from a shaft of conveyor 29. The shafts carrying thesprocket wheels are journaled in a base-plate I43 (Figure 6) and theconveyor 3| moves above this plate.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, each link I45 of transfer conveyor 3| isprovided with two spaced and horizontal arms I46- and I41, respectively,arm I46 being the leading arm with respect to the movement of conveyor3| and arm I41 being th trailing 'arm. The outer ends of arms I46 andIll are sharply bent to b upstanding as at 146a and Him, and thenoutwardly curving, as indicated at I461) and I411); The arms I46 and I41are also respectively provided with outwardly curved and overhangingarms I460 and I410 as best shown in Figure 1, these arms being spacedfrom the upstanding portions I46a, and Wm a distance somewhat less thanthelength of the body of the cans to be handled. The distance betweenthe leading arm I 46 andtrailing arm I 41 is at least as great as thediameter of the cans to be handled, and the spacing between theoverhanging arms I460 and I410 corresponds to that between horizontalarms I46 and I41.

The purpose of the spaced arm structure on apastzthe Ifree fend 66a: ofpusher arm I 68. ":viously, after 'a can hasrbeen tilted sufficientlyeach link I45 is to vertically guide the downward movement of the cansfrom their vertical position shown at position V in Figure 6 to thehorizontal position shownat H in the same figure. A'

can is caused to move from the first of these positions to the latterposition by contact of the inner side (the left-hand side in Figure 6)ofwa can at position V on the draining conveyor .29 with a rod I66which, as indicated in Figures '3 and 6, is downwardly and outwardlyinclined with respect to the inner run of conveyor '26'so that as thecans move along' -therod I66 they will fall or be brushed outwardly fromthe conveyor 29 and between the arm structures on each of the links I45of the transfer conveyor-3|.

The base plate I43 of theitransfer'conveyorim has an upstanding post I63secured thereto adjacent the end at which cans are received fromdraining conveyor 29, and a post I64 is secured to the base plateadjacent the other end of the i :conveyor. Asshownin Figure 6,fpost IE3is pro- Nided -With an arm I 65 'extending outwardly over thearmastructures on "the links I45, .theouter -='-end=of thisarm being soformedand positioned thatzacan:contacting-with'theirod I66 will bereceivedrarid supportedand gradually permitted te-drop over fromposition V to-position H. In order to accomm'odate .this movement of thecan, the receiving rod I66 extends substantially parallel to "therpusher :rod I66, but is :also 'bowed "downwardly withn'espect to rodI66 as best indicated in Figure 6. It wil1.:be noted from Figure .3.thati'th'e receiving rarm I166 extends somewhat -'far outwardly-fromthe conveyor 29 by pusher rod .166, it 'willrestx directly upon 'thereceiving il'OdHi635011311311,"the latter rod will entirely control itsfurther-movement toward the horizontal, and pusher rod I66 therefore'need only besufficiently long to .tilt the can'to 'lie' upon the re-:-ceivingrod I66.

The :movementof the cans from position V to t-rposition' H:is--. alsoassisted-rby ta U -shaped guiderbar or -track I68 provided-beneath therun of 1 r draining conveyor 29 adjacent the transfer conveyor 3|. Asshown inFigure 6, guide-bar I68 rzles' :of the am ,0 :move in theguide-bar.

bar istwisted longitudinally so that at its outfeed end I1|.itlies'inzavertical plane as shown i-iniFiguresfirand -fi. Since' thenecks of the cans will .be moving .in'ithe guide-bar I68, the entire canwill :thereby be urged from vertical position :tof'horizontalxposition.It will :be'observed that :zshortlyzafter a can has Fmoved from positionV fin Figures :3 and 6--its::shoulder-willmove out of;.contactwith'-"the carrier"|3|-:of draining conveyor .19 -.andthatsfrom this point onward the can willrbeibodily supported :by theguide-bar I68 and the receiving rod 466.

.Inorderto prevent icans from'being thrown --'bodily putward from theguide-bar 168, a can end "engagingrod I'15r-is also supported by thepost 1 I63, thei'rod "I substantially conforming:ini'longitudinal"outlinei'to the receiving rod I66,

butbeingmositioned above'the-latter rod as best t-indicated'in"Figurei6,-.so thatthe closed ends of the "cans :will contacttherewith during their movement from position V to-xposition H.

".The movementzof transfer conveyor 3| is so isynchronized with .themovement of draining conveyor 29 that during the operation of theconveyor, a link I45 of the transfer conveyor will be aligned with eachcarrier link I36 of conveyor .28. As a result-a can pushed from acarrier link of conveyor 29 by pusher rod I66 will move between theoverhanging arms |46c and I410 of a :link I45 on the transfer conveyor.When the can .has swung so far outwardly from the carrier link I36 thatit is out of contact with such car- -riers,.it will be moved forwardlyby the trailing arms I41 and M10 of the arm structure of thealigned'link I45. Thus, the can will be movin forwardly and "with theconveyors during the entire time that'it is being moved from vertical tohorizontal position.

When the canreaches position H it will be received upon horizontal barsI18, which, as shown in Figure 3, eXtend beneath the path of travel ofthearms of the links I45. From this point the trailing arms I411) andM10 will cause the cans to roll on the bars I18 and'about-the right-handend (Figure 3) of the path of transfer conveyor 3| and along the innerrun of that conveyor, the cans being'held in the carriers of conveyor 3|by a guide plate 3|a. As best shown in Figure 3, thebars I18 terminateapproximately midway of the inner run (the run at the bottom of Figure3) of transfer conveyor 3| and when the cans have reached the ends ofthe bars I18 they will drop very slightly downwardly between the arms oflink I45 to lie upon and move with a conveyor belt I86. The adjacent endof conveyor belt I86 moves down about a pulley |8| and the cans areguided downwardly and about the pulley by a chute or guide I62preferably formed of leather, canvas, or similar heavy :but relativelyflexible material.

The chute I82 terminates beneath the pulley and from this point onwardthe cans move on a trackway formed of spaced bars I 84 and 85, bar I 85,beneath the closed or bottom end of the can, being of less height thanthe bar I84. The lower run of belt I86 will bear upon the upper surfacesof the cans to. roll them along the two strips. As best shown inFigure6, the use of higher bars I84 beneath the nozzle ends of the cans willcause the mouths of the cans to be slightly raised, this arrangementinsuring that such surplus wax as may be still in the can will flow toits closed and lower end so that no wax may flow over the lip of thecan.

Spaced and facing angle irons shown in Figure 6 guide the can along thestrips I84 and I85 and, at spaced points, brackets extend upwardly fromthe angle irons, these brackets serving to support longitudinallyextending'bars having leaf springs I86 secured to their under sides, theleaf springs extending parallel with the lower run of belt I86 and inthe direction of its travel to exert a slight pressure upon the belt'tohold it in contact with the upper surfaces of the cans.

As shown in Figure 1, a gas burner I96 may be positioned adjacent theportion of the trackway formed of strips 84 and I85 upon which the cansare first received, the burner also bein positioned near the nozzle endsof the cans. The purpose of this heating means is to cause anysurpluswax in the mouth of the can to be melted so that it.

will flow back'into the body of the can. However,

burner I66 only extends alongthe trackway for a comparatively'shortdistance, and through the remainder and "the greater part of themovement of cans on such trackway, they will be permitted to cool sothat the wax will harden while the cans are still slightly tilted.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, it will be noted that as the cans movefrom beneath the lower run of belt I80 they will drop downwardly througha chute I9I and will then move beneath the lower run of an endless beltI92 to the outfeed end I93 of the apparatus. The lower run of belt I92is pressed downwardly upon the upper surfaces of the cans by leafsprings I94 mounted in a manner similar to the leaf springs I89 of beltI80, and the cans move upon a trackway I83a so that the nozzles of thecans will be slightly raised in a manner similar to that shown in Figure6. At the outfeed end I93 of the machine the cans move upon a conveyor33 from which they may be removed by attendants.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description of the apparatus setforth in the drawings that the invention is applicable for the handlingof articles of numerous types and that the description herein of theconstruction and use of an apparatus for coating the interiors ofcontainers is merely to illustrate and disclose one embodiment of theapparatus and method of the invention.

We claim:

1. In combination, a conveyor including moving article carriers eachadapted to support an elongated article with its longitudinal axissubstantially vertical, a second conveyor adapted to support thearticles with their longitudina1 axes substantially horizontal, saidsecond conveyor including article engaging members movable along a runparallel to a run of said first conveyor and with said article engagingmembers moving in register with the article carriers of said firstconveyor, each of said article engaging members including a pair ofspaced arms extending toward said article carriers, said arms beingspaced a distance corresponding to the width of the article so that anarticle may move between the same without tilting longitudinally of saidruns, and fixed means to engage the articles to cause them to tilttransversely of said runs of the conveyors to drop between said arms,said last named means including an element to embrace the lowermostportion of each article and spiraled longitudinally of said runs.

2. In combination, a conveyor including moving article carriers eachadapted to support an elongated article with its longitudinal axissubstantially vertical, a second conveyor adapted to support thearticles with their longitudinal axes substantially horizontal, saidsecond conveyor including article engaging members movable along a runparallel to a run of said first conveyor and with said article engagingmembers moving in register with the article carriers of said firstconveyor, each of said article engaging members includin a pair ofspaced arms extending toward said article carriers, said arms beingspaced a distance corresponding to the width of the article so that anarticle may move between the same without tilting. longitudinally ofsaid runs, and fixed means to engage the articles to cause them to tilttransversely of said runs of the conveyors to drop between said arms,said last named means including an element to embrace the lowermostportion of each article and spiraled longitudinally of said runs, andelements inclined longitudinally of said runs and spaced from saidlast-named element by a distance substantially corresponding to thelength of each article so that they will engage a portion of the articlespaced from the portion engaged by said last-named element.

HELENE GOEBEL, Administratria: of the Estate of George Goebel Deceased.

HARRY 1A. RAU.

